Force and moment balances are known in the art and are typically used in wind tunnels to measure the force and moment loads on a model in the wind tunnel. In general, force and moment balances may be used in any application where the forces and moments need to be measured. An application of the force and moment balance is to measure the forces and moments as a result of using cutting tools for machining raw material. Most balances make use of electric strain gauges to measure deformation of parts thereof. The deformation may be electrically measured and forces and moments may be mathematically derived therefrom.
A problem with current balances is that there is inherent vertical movement (shown as A in FIG. 1) associated with an horizontal force (shown as B in FIG. 1). This is undesirable as it increases calibration time and complexity. Calibration provides a means to relate input forces and moments to sensor outputs, and is needed to measure accurately.